Combination passenger and utility type vehicles, such as mini-vans, sport-utility vehicles, and the like, are commonly constructed such that one or more of the vehicle seat assemblies positioned behind the driver's seat are moveable or removable in some manner in order to provide a larger cargo area behind the driver's seat. Such rearwardly positioned seat assemblies will hereinafter be referred to in this specification and claims as a "rear vehicle seat assembly" as the context requires.
As complete removal of rear vehicle seat assemblies to increase cargo space requires considerable effort and a space to store the rear seat assembly, when removed, and as such complete removal from the vehicle is not always practical or necessary, some rear seat assemblies for minivans and sport-utility vehicles are pivotally moveable between a lowered position, which lowered position is an in-use position, and an uptilted position, which uptilted position is a stowed position. However, for safety reasons, the vehicle seat assembly must first be unlocked at its rear legs in order to be moved from its lowered position to its uptilted position.
One such rear vehicle seat assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,989 (Ercilla), wherein a vehicle seat assembly is pivotally movable between a lowered position and an uptilted position. In the lowered position, the legs of the vehicle seat assembly are locked to fixed attachment rods supported by the vehicle floor. The front legs of Ercilla include a blocking mechanism that precludes unlocking of the locking means when the vehicle seat assembly is in its lowered position. In order to pivot the vehicle seat assembly from its lowered position to its uptilted position, for stowing it away, the locking means at the rear seat legs is first released, and the vehicle seat assembly is then pivoted forwardly to its uptilted position. In the uptilted position, the locking means at the front seat legs remains engaged, and must be separately released by way of additional manipulation of the locking means, if it is desired to entirely remove the vehicle seat assembly from the vehicle. Release of the locking means on the front seat legs by way of such additional manipulation is awkward and inconvenient to the user, as the locking means associated with the front seat legs is difficult to reach. Moreover, in order to release the locking means of Ercilla, it is necessary to grasp a connecting rod located immediately above the locking means near the vehicle floor. This is undesirable, since the person performing this locking manoeuver would typically be crouching within the vehicle, holding the rear vehicle seat assembly in its uptilted position with one hand, while trying to unlock the locking means on the front seat legs, with his/her other free hand, which adds to the awkwardness of the task.
Additionally, after the rear vehicle seat assembly has been moved to its uptilted position to increase storage space within the vehicle, it is necessary to support the vehicle seat assembly in that uptilted position, so that the rear vehicle seat assembly will not unexpectedly return to its lowered position during movement of the vehicle. In the Ercilla patent, there is no means disclosed for supporting the vehicle seat assembly in its uptilted position, although the production version of this device uses a strap connected between the seat cushion frame and the vehicle roof for this purpose. This is not only awkward to employ and aesthetically unpleasing in modern vehicles, but may pose a safety problem in crash-like situations, where the loading on such a strap can be unusually high. Moreover, such an arrangement permits some degree of pivotal movement of the uptilted seat in at least one pivotal direction, which movement results in unacceptable squeaks, rattles and other noise during travel of the vehicle over rough surfaces. Thus, it is desirable to rigidly secure the rear vehicle seat assembly in its uptilted position in a manner which prevents any significant amount of motion of the rear vehicle seat assembly in this position. Moreover, it is desirable that such rigid, secured support of the rear vehicle seat assembly be obtainable in an easy and convenient manner by the user.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a rear vehicle seat assembly which is pivotally moveable from a lowered position to an uptilted position, and wherein the locking mechanism is convenient to reach and use.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a rear vehicle seat assembly which is pivotally moveable from a lowered position to an uptilted position, wherein the uptilted rear vehicle seat assembly is rigidly supported in its uptilted configuration against pivotal movement upon movement of a vehicle in which it is installed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rear vehicle seat assembly which is pivotally moveable from a lowered position to an uptilted position, and wherein the aforesaid rigid support for the rear vehicle seat assembly is deployable in an easy and convenient manner.